It seems that I’m going to spend entire July in work – that’s why I didn’t have time to write any other long article than the Mucha one. Fortunately my boyfriend and I managed to visit some culture events in Brno though – an author reading within the traditional Author Reading Month, which takes place in several Czech and Slovak cities each July; and a photography exhibition in Moravian Gallery. Although I went there rather to “initiate” my boyfriend into the visual art (and which theme is better for that than beatiful nude women! 🙂 ), I left the gallery with bigger experience than I expected.

Talking about the photography – it really interests me, but my knowledge in this field is as small as in architecture or design. Because of this I don’t dare to judge all of photos I see, only if they are really good or bad. However I feel it as a duty to talk a bit about an American photographer Jock Sturges whose art really caught my heart.

His photos capture the beauty, very similar to fine aesthethics of ancient Greek art. While his Czech “companion” Karel Novák, sharing with him the exhibitional space, concentrates on realism and sometimes on candid-like photos, Sturges is – as well as Rudolf Koppitz who just left the walls of Moravian Gallery – rather an admirer of ideal beauty.

To watch his works pleases me not only because of obvious atractivity of his models, but also because of the manner he depicts them – gently, delicately as if he’d like to show us their subtility and fragility. This is sometimes accompanied something like “holiness” – as you can see later, below in the article.

Sturges prefers gentle lighting which accentuate softness and rondure of bodily shapes. The models have straight look, seeming even more naked to me than their bodies. It provides an insight into their souls. They are set out like Classic sculptures and the photo as a whole looks very balanced.

I’m striked the most by the light which seems like it would come from the models themselves – it’s a spark of life, vibrant presence of the soul.

The exhibition presents only black and white photography, however I managed to find a fragment of Sturges’ colour production as well. Eva II (below) is truly astonishing – there is not only this strength, radiating from her, but also vulnerability. It’s great expression of the esential, archetypal femininity. She’s a mother and a daughter, a girl and an adult woman in one. Perfect.

You can’t just pass this girl at the exhibition. She’s one of the most outstanding figures there. Although she’s captured there differently and then few years later, where Sturges depicted her change into a maturing woman, she took my breath away.

There are not only women and girls who are photographed by the artist. Yoann (the boy below) reminds me of Christian saints.“Holy” photography cannot be seen in the Moravian Gallery, because the exhibition there focuses rather on the human nudity as it is and it’s nature, but I’m sure it won’t take any bit of the experience it provides. For those who consider to visit is, it’ll last until July 28.